From the Archives: No Substitute for Christ

The most important business or task that anyone will ever undertake is that of building the life that he is going to live. The most important feature of that life is whether it is going to count, and, if it is, for whom.

After three years of college life at Stanford University, I asked myself, “What is my life counting for?” I was struck with the realization that my life was counting for me alone, that the main business of my life was my own success, fame, happiness, and security. Whether on the basketball court, in the classroom, or on a date, I could see that my life was lacking any real meaning and purpose.

As long as I can remember, I have always believed in God. To me, he had been my Creator, but I had never really thought about him as anything else.

Then, during my summer vacation between junior and senior years in college, as I was frantically looking for the meaning of life and the direction it should take, God pointed out this very simple truth to me: “If I am your Creator, surely I must have the answers to your life’s problems, your purpose for being here, and the path that you should follow in this world.”

I agreed with God that he certainly must have the answers to all my questions, but the problem then became this: How could I get to know God that he might tell me the answers I was seeking?

I soon found that there is only one way to know God personally. I read in John 14:6 that Christ said these words: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Here the Lord Jesus was telling me that he is the way to God, the truth about God, and the life to live to please God—that by knowing Jesus Christ, I know God. Confronted with this tremendous truth, I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of my life and my Savior from sin.

In my brief life as a Christian, I have found that there is no substitute for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Christ is real to me. He has changed my life. He has set me upon a new course, one directed toward the kingdom of God. Though once I had no purpose in life, now my purpose is to serve him who created me, and to please him each day.

Christianity is Christ. For me to be a Christian means to strive on the strength he gives me to be like him. Christ is my teacher and guide in life. He points me to a knowledge and a following of God’s will. I have learned to trust him as a friend in everything I do. My greatest desire is to grow like him in heart and in life; to live his way of life.

I have truly found that Christianity works—that it is practical, down to earth, and applicable to every human situation and need. No life could be more thrilling or satisfying. This I know with all my heart.

The life we are building is the most important thing we will every do, and I am equally convinced that the only life that counts is the life lived for God, through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

George Selleck’s article was included in the June 15, 1957, issue of The Gospel Trumpet and originally reprinted from the American Tract Society.

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